Described below is a method for acquiring and providing a database which relates to a predetermined surrounding area and contains environmental data relating to at least the dynamic objects in the surrounding area, wherein the environmental data is acquired by sensors of at least one motor vehicle.
The perception and interpretation of the environment constitutes an essential task for an increasing number of vehicle systems in motor vehicles, in particular in piloted, consequently completely automatically guided, motor vehicles with a corresponding vehicle system which is designed to guide the motor vehicle completely automatically. In particular, complete detection of all the dynamic objects in the environment of the motor vehicle is indispensable for route planning in piloted motor vehicles or to support the driver using driver assistance systems, which applies in particular to surrounding areas in which complex traffic situations occur. A classic example of such a surrounding area is an intersection at which road users of a wide variety of types arrive from a wide variety of directions.
In order to detect dynamic (and if appropriate also static) objects, sensors (environmental sensors) are usually installed in the motor vehicles, these being, for example, radar sensors, cameras and the like, on which environmental data algorithms have set up for interpreting situations. In this context, approaches are known in which the interpretation of the environmental data, for example the creation of environmental maps used by further vehicle systems or their functions is based only on environmental data of the motor vehicle's own sensor system. In this context, specific areas, for example those in shadow, cannot be seen; furthermore, the sensing by the possibilities of the vehicle's own sensor system is restricted.
Consequently it has already been proposed to supplement a motor vehicle's own environmental data with that from other motor vehicles by using motor vehicle-to-motor vehicle communication. For example, DE 10 2008 042 565 A1 therefore discloses a method for operating a driver assistance device, in which the driver assistance device is provided with external sensor data about a traffic situation by at least one external device, and this external sensor data is used to operate the driver assistance device. The at least one further device can be a vehicle and/or a permanently installed infrastructure device, wherein in order to regulate the exchange of sensor data it is proposed to provide the data to the vehicle, for example, on request and/or after authorization.
This has already brought about a significant improvement, but there is enormous data traffic between the various motor vehicles which all correspondingly fill, through requests, their own data pool relating to the surrounding area in which the motor vehicle is currently moving. Particularly in surrounding areas in which a multiplicity of motor vehicles and, if appropriate, other road users are present, this results in a massive data traffic which adversely affects the execution of such a procedure. In addition, collected data is lost at the latest when a road user leaves the surrounding area.